Dare for Distance
by bonniereads
Summary: Derek is at Queens, and Casey is in New York. All they have to look forward to is phone calls to one another. The step-siblings still argue to no ends on the phone. They didn't realize how much they'd miss one another. Will the distance bring them closer than they thought?
1. Chapter 1

**Enjoy:)**

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Derek threw his hockey bag on the floor and huffed out a deep sigh. His limbs were finally able to relax after a long first week of University and frankly, he wondered how these people had time to study, let alone party. He could hear the beginnings of a party start at some frat on his walk from the rink. Perhaps with time (lots of time) he would get used to this schedule and eventually find time for all that stuff. For now, sleep sounded more appealing.

He heard the door to his dorm open and slam and a similar exhausted huff followed by a bag being thrown to the ground. His roommate Cameron was also a Freshman here and he, too, was on the hockey team. Derek was grateful for that, because he needed someone to help keep him on his feet, and it was cool to think that he could possibly keep Cam on his feet, too. He heard the body hit against the bed and a groan.

"I have so much fucking homework." Cameron grumbled, throwing an arm over his eyes.

"Shit...me, too." Derek groaned, and sat up.

"I better do it now, before I fall asleep. Can't count on me doing anything during the weekend with all the practice and work." his roommate sighed, and rolled off the bed.

"I'll start in five." Derek sighed loudly. "If I fall asleep, just throw a shoe at me, that's what usually works." he grunted.

He heard a chuckle, and rummaging. The noise was becoming an issue until he heard Cameron let out an annoyed sigh.

"You have a pen, D? I bought three new packs and can't fucking find one." Cameron kicked his bag over.

"Yeah, check my desk drawer. My step mom packed me like a million different brands so I could test out what I like most." Derek mentally rolled his eyes. He knew exactly where Casey got her OCD tendencies.

"Hey, D?" Cameron was curious as he approached Derek's desk and he studied the pictures.

"What?" Seriously, he just needed like a few minutes just to close his eyes before he got up and did more work. If he'd known college would be this hard, he would have taken the managerial position at Smelly Nelly's.

"Who's this chick in all your pictures?" Derek peeked up and Cameron was holding a picture of him and Casey at some graduation party they'd gone to. She had her head on his shoulder and his arm was thrown freely around her.

"That's Casey." Derek sat up, and reached for his bag, because it didn't seem like he was getting any rest any time soon anyways. May as well start his homework.

"Is she your girlfriend?"

"Casey is _not_ my girlfriend." Derek clarified. It was always weird saying that out loud. Why was everyone so curious, and why was it anyone's business?

"Oh, your sister then?"

"Ugh..." Derek gagged. "Don't ever say that again."

"Then why do you have so many pictures of her?!" Cameron laughed. "Nobody carries this many pictures of a girl if they're not family or a girlfriend."

"She's...just Casey! I don't have that many pictures of her!" Derek got up, and walked over to his desk where he had a cork board full of pictures and a couple of them framed. There were three on the cork board of them together (Not counting one of just her), and one of them both in a frame.

"There's a lot of fucking pictures." Cameron said in amusement.

"Well..." Derek was at a loss for words. He honestly didn't think there were enough pictures of her.

"So she's not your girl friend, and she's not your sister. Who is she?" Cameron picked up a framed picture of them. It was them at graduation and in an especially rare moment, Derek had full on hugged her and was laughing happily down at her because she was the reason he even got to walk that day.

"She's...just Casey! Why does it matter so much?" Derek was whining, because the conversation always made him uncomfortable.

"Does she come to Uni?" He cocked an eyebrow up at Derek.

"No...she's in New York." Derek rolled his eyes, and turned back to his bed so he could finally start his work.

"School?"

"No, she was actually supposed to come here. That was our plan, at least." Derek grumbled the last part.

"Big fight?" Cameron pushed.

"No, we fight too much for it to actually start affecting our long term decisions." Derek grinned.

"Okay, so you seem pissed she's in New York, you planned on coming to college together, you have like a fucking million pictures of her, and you have long term decisions made with her...and she's..._not_...your girlfriend?" Cameron just wanted a straight answer, really, he wasn't trying to be annoying.

"No! And no we don't always make decisions like that together! It's just...she decided to go to New York for a year so she could dance...she deferred for a year." Derek shook his head. He was still pissed at her for doing this. The pain was still so real, and he'd been giving her the silent treatment for a good three weeks. It was honestly the longest time he'd gone without talking to her since they'd met.

"A dancer, eh?" Cameron wriggled his eyebrows at Derek. "She's kinda hot."

"_Kinda_?" Derek snorted, and then wanted to slap himself. He hated when he lets slip a tiny shred of how attracted he was to Casey. "Look...she's Casey. She's..._special_ to me." Derek could slap himself again, because although that were true, he was sure there was a less wimpy way of saying that.

"Off limits?" Cameron put the picture down finally, and sat on his bed with his text book.

"You could say that..." Derek said uneasily. "Look, she's helped me through a lot of shit... with school and my brother and sister. We're just..._there_...for each other a lot."

"So like a best friend, then?" Cameron tilted his head to the side.

"Eh." Derek waved his hand side to side. He'd never even call her an acquaintance to her face, let alone friend or best friend. "If best friends argued too much, constantly insulted one another, and hate each other's guts one third of the time...then yes. We're the bestest friends ever." Derek could talk about her all day, but just thinking of her lately infuriated him. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"I can see this conversation is exhausting you. Don't think I'm done, though." Cameron grinned, shaking his head, and finally putting his pen to the paper and zoning out.

Derek heaved a huge sigh of relief. He was grateful for the conversation to come to an end.

It wasn't at all that he wasn't happy for Casey doing the dancing thing. She was amazing, after all. He just thought that she cared a lot more about her education and all that. It stung worse knowing she'd picked that Jesse guy over him and she'd only known the guy for two minutes for fucks sake.

So the silent treatment just seemed...logical. And childish. But mostly logical. Casey was supposed to come to university with him! Not run off with lover boy right when her real life was going to begin!

Silent treatment would be a whole lot easier if she wasn't calling him every other day and leaving him threatening messages to pick up his phone and for once in his life stop being so selfish or so help her. He knew he made ignoring her look easy, but it really wasn't, because he really was dying to know how she was doing. He wanted to be sure she was safe and that she was eating because he knew how crazy she gets once she starts dancing. She'll start skipping meals and working out. She'd gotten out of hand once, and he put a stop to it by shoving a burger at her and making it a point that guys don't dig skeletal women.

Eventually he did cave in, about three weeks into Queens, as he was leaving class and his phone was ringing. He was walking on campus at the time, on his way to the dorms and once it started ringing, he just stared at the screen; a picture of her popping up with her name across the screen. He sighed loudly and closed his eyes as he finally answered.

"Hello?"

"De-_rek_!" she shrieked his name. "Why are you ignoring me? I've been calling you for weeks!"  
He couldn't help but grin widely, because from the sound of her voice, she hadn't changed a bit, and that was what he was most afraid of.

"I wasn't ignoring you, I was just enjoying my time away from you." Casey could practically feel his smirk on the other end.

"Oh sure, whatever! You live for irritating me to no ends, just like you are right now. So what gives? Why aren't you talking to me?" She was raising her voice, and Derek could kick himself for thinking of how much he missed her yelling at him.

"I don't have anything to say." he said casually. He was already walking in his dorm, and he saw Cameron at his desk writing an essay. Derek nodded at him with a smirk, and walked over to his bed.

"You always have something to say. So let me have it. You're pissed at me for coming to New York? Is that it?" she pushed him.

"Casey, I could care less about that." He lied smoothly. Cameron's ears perked up when he heard her name, but he played it cool by pretending he was still doing his essay.

"Then _what_, Derek? Partying too hard to give your ol' stepsister a call or text or even email? God you're such a jerk! Why do I even care so much?" She ranted on.

"I don't know, why _do_ you care so much? You're the one calling me, after all."

"Stop doing that! Stop acting like you don't care!" she whined. "It drives me crazy! If you didn't care, you probably would've come and said goodbye to me when I left!" Derek felt guilty as he heard her voice start to crack, but she soon recovered. "But no you have to stop talking to me altogether and be a little girl about everything!"

"Or maybe I don't really care at all, but I still like to get a rise out of you and know how much you hate the silent treatment. I only answered today, because you keep calling during my classes and I need you to stop that." He was grinning ear to ear, because he craved the routine him and Casey had together in high school of fighting, and now he was just feeling very nostalgic. He reached in his bag for his laptop, and opened up his email right quick, clicking away while Casey talked on.

"Well if you'd have answered your phone or talked to me at all like a mature adult, I would've known when you had class and we wouldn't be in this mess, you idiot!" she yelled.

"Chill out, Princess, I just sent you my schedule so stop whining." He shut the laptop and leaned against the wall with a huff, trying to seem annoyed but really, he was deeply pleased that they were going to start talking again.

"Wha-really?" he could hear the smile in her voice and that made his stomach flop for some reason.

"Duh. Now stop calling me during my classes. There's no excuse now." He retorted like he was talking to a child.

"I'm going to ignore your condescending tone for two minutes to ask how school is." Casey was all business now.

"Good, I'm actually going to all my classes and shit."

"Language, Der."

"And _shoot_." He corrected himself with a laugh. "Coaches were pains in our assholes about keeping our grades up. With the scholarship and all, I thought what the hell, might as well try for once."

"Pains in our assholes. Nice." She repeated, making Derek laugh.

"Language, Case."

"_Bum_-holes." she corrected with a giggle. "Well at least you're actually kind of smart-and I will not repeat that so wipe that grin off your face. I'm really glad it's going well." her voice was solemn, now and it was then that he knew Casey missed him just as much as he missed her.

"Hows dance?" Derek tried to get her out of that mood.

"Oh, Der..." she sighed dreamily. "It's great. I mean, everyone is super anal-and that's coming from me. But once we all have it down, it's wonderful." He could hear the smile in her voice.

"You better not be starving yourself." Derek said seriously.

"Not this again, Derek." Casey grew annoyed. "That was one time, and even I know that was stupid. My diet is strict now, but I make sure that I'm getting everythingI need. Plus every Friday night I have a steak dinner with my dad."  
This pleased Derek. Not only that she was eating well, but that she was spending time with her father; and he knew she missed him dearly.

"And Jesse?" he practically spat his name out, it leaving a dirty taste in his mouth.

"Oh, we're like on different schedules, so I rarely see him." She said without a care. Derek breathed out a sigh of relief, shaking off the jealousy that had taken over.  
They talked a little while longer, little banter to get on the other's nerves, until the conversation came to an end about an hour later.

"I have to go, Der. Next time don't be so dramatic and ignore me. Theatrics are _my_ thing." she scolded him, but even then he could hear the playfulness in her voice.

"Yes, dear." he rolled his eyes.

"And, Der?" Casey said hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"I really miss you. It's kind of...weird...being here without you. I guess I'm just used to us doing everything together." Her voice grew soft, and he closed his eyes relishing in the sound of it.

"Ditto, Space Cadet. Call me anytime, yeah?"

"Sure, Der." she whispered, and hung up.

Derek sighed, tossing his phone on his desk, and throwing an arm over his eyes. He'd resorted to lying down during the conversation. He felt so much relief that they were talking again, and it really was weight off his shoulders to know she was doing well.

"So..." Cameron put his pencil down. Derek turned his head to look at his roommate, almost forgetting he was even in there. "That was Casey on the phone?"

"Yeah, trust me, she's more infuriating in person if you could believe it." Derek mumbled. A smile curved on Cameron's face as he smiled at Derek shaking his head.

"When were you going to tell me you were in love with her."

Derek sat straight up and scoffed. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah. You love Casey! Why didn't you just tell me that? What is she, the one that got away?"

"Why would you even think that?" Derek asked, almost nervously.

"C'mon! I mean you talk to us guy's plenty, but I see you deflect any girl that approaches you or even tries to talk to you. Once Casey calls, you can't stop! Plus, you know...the married couple thing." He shrugged.

"What married couple thing?"

"You guys were arguing like an old married couple. Sort of like a dynamic you already have down to a tee."

"That doesn't mean I love her. We just know how to push each other's buttons." Derek shrugged, hoping it seemed like a good enough excuse.

"You can't lie to me, you know. I have the best bull shit detector in town." He cocked an eyebrow up at Derek and gave him a challenging look as if to say 'Lie to me one more time so I can call you on it'.  
The stare got too intense for Derek, and he threw himself back with a groan.

"Fine!" He huffed. "I love her, okay! She doesn't know."

"That's my boy!" Cameron laughed with amusement.

"I don't want to hear it. I'm not into people teasing me!" Derek whined. "Plus, it isn't like anything can happen between us."

"Why not?" Cameron was curious.

Derek sat up, not sure what to say. His friendship was still new with him, he didn't need to know the complete basics of his and Casey's relationship. He didn't need to be deemed a freak right now, or ever for that matter. Maybe he'd tell him later, but for now, he'd just avoid that part of the complete truth.

"She's..." He sighed, shaking his head. "too good for me." that part wasn't a lie. He really did believe that.

"You seem like a good enough guy." Cameron shrugged, getting up from his desk and sitting on his bed across from Derek's.

"Look, you don't know her, but...she's sort of _perfect_. I'm...not even close."

"Well, if she's still single, and has been bugging you everyday since you've been here, I'd say, you're just what she wants."

Derek chuckled sadly, and shook his head again. "No. I'm not. I'm pretty good at reading her when she has a crush on somebody or is even remotely interested. She gets all flustered and klutzy. She's perfectly composed around me."

"Maybe she just doesn't know she's in love with you."

"No...no. She's pretty in tune with her feelings, believe me." Derek rolled his eyes, and then rubbed his hands up and down his face. He hated talking about feelings.

Cameron studied his friend for a while and noticed the stress this put on him, so he dropped it. He honestly felt bad for the guy. He probably had the whole college experience planned out (with her in the picture), and she wasn't even there now to experience it with him. Cameron was a sucker for happily ever after, though he'd kill anyone who ever found that out. So he secretly wished the best for his lovesick roommate.

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**Yay for another story. I know I totally suck with updates. Hopefully this one will be updated once a week since I plan on it being a 3-shot.**

**Don't worry about my other two stories that are still in the works. I'm just thinking long and hard about them. Be patient! Hopefully it'll all be worth the wait.**

**I'd like to thank_ A. Summer_ for the story idea! I really appreciate it and hope I live up to your great ideas! Hopefully I don't butcher it haha.:) I'm using your idea with the thoughts of Never Shout Never's Dare4Distance (mostly because it's to do with two lovers separated and one of them is in school).**

**-Bonnie**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2!**

**Enjoy:)**

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So Derek and Casey would stay in touch with one another and would often Skype. That was an experience all on it's own. Seeing her even through a screen made Derek's breath hitch. He was quite pleased that she was sassy as ever, calling him out anytime he'd crack a joke at her expense. Casey, like always, had a schedule in which she called him; which was at 3 o'clock every two days. It was her way of trying not to seem too annoying (which Derek always claimed that she would be annoying either way).

Most of the time she just called him to argue with him, and usually it would be over something trivial. She would nit-pick until he was annoyed and they were going back and forth until they were both grinning ear to ear insulting each other. None of this went unnoticed by Cameron.

It was like nothing had changed. They barely had time to miss one another, but of course they still did.

A few months into their little "conversations" Casey called him out of her little schedule. Derek thought it was weird, because she was calling him right after a game, and she never called him in the evening. His first thought was something was wrong, so he picked up in a panic.

"Case? What happened, are you okay?"

"What? Yes I'm okay!" she laughed lightly.

"Why are you calling me so late, then?" he asked, breathing out a relieved breath. He was in the locker room already out of the shower and pulling his clothes on, balancing his phone on his shoulder to listen to her.

"Can't a girl just call her step-brother to see how he's doing?" She giggled. He liked that she seemed to be in a really good mood and he ignored the flip his stomach did at the sound of her laugh.

"The fact that we talked yesterday afternoon makes it hard to believe that you want to know how I'm doing. What's up?"

"I just wanted to see how your game went. You seemed pretty stressed yesterday when we were talking about it, it being an important match and all." He grinned at her concern, getting that feeling in the pit of his stomach as he heard her worries.

"We won. _Obviously_." he smirked, knowing that she could feel it on the other end.

"Dammit, we all know you didn't need that ego boost. Sort of wished you'd lost now."

Derek laughed out, pulling his shirt over his head, and grabbing his bag. "Is that the only reason you called? To be sure my ego was still in check?"

"Well, no, I wanted to know what you were doing. I'm bored and just wanted someone to talk to."

This surprised Derek. She usually called him so they could argue, and be sure the other was doing okay. She never called just to make conversation because she was "bored".

"Space, you're in New York, why don't you go and explore the city?"

"Ugh..." she huffed. "I guess you're right. I've been putting it off, actually. Exploring isn't my thing, you know that."  
Derek grinned, walking through the hallway that lead to the front door where he had the Prince parked.

"Well, if you do go, be sure to carry mace with you. We all know there are freaks out there, and we don't want you-" when he pushed through the exit door, his breath hitched in his throat.

She was standing right there smirking at him. Leaning against a pole with a briefcase next to her. She was there. Casey McDonald. He hadn't seen her in three months, and she was standing in her perfect glory looking at him in amusement.

"Derek Venturi." was all she said, and dammit he'd never loved the sound of his own name so much in his life.

While she walked over to him slowly, he took the time to observe her. She was wearing black skinny jeans and a baggy white v-neck under a black leather jacket with a red scarf. The fact that she was walking over to him in red high heels surprised him, because before she'd gone to New York, she would've twisted her ankle with the first step.

"What, I don't even get a hug?" She was looking up at him with that smug grin on her face.

"Cooties. You know the drill." he smirked down at her.

"You can risk it." She laughed, and threw her arms around him. He didn't hesitate to hug her back. "Oh, Der..." she murmured against his shirt. "I know we're typically supposed to hate this, but since we're both having a momentary lapse in judgement due to our time apart I'm going to take the time to say that it's so great to see you." she rambled, holding him tighter.

"You, too, Case." He squeezed her once, and loosened his hold on her, still keeping his fingers at her waste, and looking down at her. "What are you even doing here?" he grinned down at her.

"That's a surprise." she beamed, and brought her hands to the back of his neck, with that overly happy Casey smile. "But first, we need to eat. I'm starving."

"Yo, Venturi!" Derek heard the voice of his roommate. "You forgot your jersey on the bench and-Oh, it's you!" Cameron appeared, and his own breath hitched when he saw the gorgeous brunette that was holding onto Derek. He noted the way they were holding one another and dammit if he'd never seen two people who seemed like they were meant to be in such an embrace.

"It's me." she shrugged. "Who are you?"

Cameron grinned, and faked hurt. "Wow, Derek. You haven't mentioned me once, have you? I've been living with you for months now and you still haven't mentioned me!" He brought his hand to his chest in mock hurt.

Derek smirked. "Well, honey, I just don't think the world is ready for you yet." he released Casey and put a hand on his hip.

"I'm Cameron. You must be Casey." Cameron broke the facade and put his hand out to her.

"I _must_ be." she giggled, taking his hand. "And for the record, he has mentioned you."

"I'm honored to have made it into one of y'alls legendary conversations."

Casey blushed at that, and looked down embarrassed. Derek didn't like the sudden shift in her mood and the way she'd looked at Cameron, but he let that slide because he knew how girls looked at his roommate. It didn't mean anything. He hoped.

"Well, we were just about to go and have dinner. Care to join?" She bit her lip and looked up at Cameron, and Derek got a queasy feeling in his belly. He looked at his friend and gave him a pleading look. Cameron grinned and shook his head.

"Nah, I have a date with one of the girls from the dance team." he pat Derek on the shoulder.

"Suit yourself." Casey shrugged, and Derek was pleased to see that she didn't seem disappointed that he wouldn't make it. With that, Cameron left, and Casey grabbed her bag.

"Is it too much to ask a gentleman like you to carry my bag for me?" she blinked up at him hopefully.

"Dream on, Space Cadet. Let's go, I'm starving." He slung an arm around her as she huffed and pulled her bag along with them.

Derek was all too happy that she was there. He didn't expect to see her for another week when she was able to get home for Christmas vacation. Now since she was here, she could just drive home with him tomorrow afternoon. They were now waiting to be seated at an Italian place on campus that was packed with students who had attended the game.

"Hey, you're Derek, right?" a leggy blonde made her way over to him while he was waiting on Casey to get out of the restroom, also still waiting to be seated.

"Yeah." he smirked down at her. His charm came easily to him and he noticed her instant blush under her lashes. She bit her lip and blinked up at him.

"You played a great game tonight. Are you here alone?" she glanced around him and he felt awkward with how many times she blinked during those to sentences. It made him dizzy in the worst ways.

"Well, I-"

"Have we been seated yet?" Casey was next to him now, and rummaging through her purse. She glanced up at him, and then at the girl talking to him; and if Derek had never seen the stink eye thrown at Casey before, he was seeing it now. He noticed Casey's demeanor change into a defensive one, and she took a small step back, unsure if she was interrupting something.

"Not yet, Princess." he used the nickname to let the girl know he wasn't interested in her. "I was just talking about how well I played with-" He glanced up at the girl with a questioning look.

"Natalie. My name's Natalie." she snapped, already turning away.

"Natalie." he nodded "Nice talking to you." but the girl was already off with her friends with a roll of her eyes.

"She seemed..._nice_?" Casey's brow was furrowed, unsure what to think. Derek laughed and put his arm around her.

"Don't worry about her. I've seen her around. She'll move on pretty quick, though I guess it'll be hard for her to find anyone that lives up to me."

"Ugh." Casey shoved him away. "You're such a pig."

The waiter then came up and seated them, taking their orders and walking off.

"So...the reason I'm here, apart from it being my vacation and all..." Casey said, excitedly cutting to the chase.

"To see me, obviously. I have that affect on girls. They typically can't stay away." Derek shrugged, leaning back in his chair for effect.

"Oh, yes, I traveled all this way to surprise you because I merely needed to be in your almighty presence." she cocked an eyebrow up at him.

"I knew it." he smirked, and he she rolled her eyes. "Okay, out with it, Casey. I don't have all night."

"My dad bought an apartment for me. Well, _us_, but since you're in the dorms this year, it's kind of just going to be there." She hurried through her words through her excitement.

"Wait, what? He bought us an apartment?" Derek shook his head.

Casey took a sip of her drink and nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, it's a two bedroom, and he'd totally forgotten about it-his assistant handles his bills and all-and he handed me over the key before I got the date for my vacation. Apparently he'd intended it to be a gift for the both of us, but since I'm spending the year over there, it slipped his mind." She reached into her purse and handed him a key. He grabbed it and held it between his fingers in awe. This was one of the coolest things anyone had done for him. He knew he'd always liked Dennis McDonald.

"Is it...like..furnished?"

"Yeah! My dad had the whole thing fixed up for us just waiting there."

"And he just forgot about a whole apartment that he's paying for?" He leaned forward, cocking an eyebrow at her. "You're dad is too rich for life."

Casey rolled her eyes, brushing off the comment. "So that's why I'm here. We need to go look at it, and since I figured it's both of ours, you'd come with."

The waiter stopped by and placed their plates accordingly. Casey smiled prettily up at him, and Derek smirked at the effect she had on the poor guy. As usual, it went unnoticed by Casey, and she went happily along eating her meal. Derek shook his head and swirled his pasta around his fork.

"Can we go tonight?"

"Yeah, I'm staying there for the night before we leave for London tomorrow." She bit at her food, and took a sip of her drink. "By the way, you're driving me home." She grinned at him.

"Don't think you'll fit." He teased her.

"Why, is your ego taking up the whole car?" she shot back at him, and Derek noted the challenge in her eyes.

"Think you'll have to take the bus."

"God, I'd rather walk. C'mon, Der, you know you want me to ride with you." And if he wasn't mistaken she blinked at him the way Natalie was blinking at him earlier. He brushed that off.

"Eh, I guess you could hitch a ride." he shrugged. "The family know you're coming along?"

"No, that's a surprise, too." she was giddy, clapping her hands. "Do you know how hard it is to keep secrets?" she leaned forward excitedly. "I feel like a secret agent!"

"Well, it's nice to know that you're still a huge dork." He smiled sarcastically at her.

"Oh, shut up! This is exciting to me." she threw her napkin at him, which he caught and tossed back at her. "Anyways, tell me who you've dated. I'm dying to know." he knew she was lying.

"If you must know, Princess, my dating life has been very dull. My time is too consumed with school and hockey. And this annoying chick that calls me every other day to talk my ear off."

"Oh you love my phone calls, shut up." she shot back at him. "I have a hard time believing you've been single this whole time. With girls like Natalie following you around? Please." She pushed her plate away, and Derek squinted at her because it was still half full. He pushed it towards her and gave her a look.

"I'm full." she pushed it back.

"Case, just finish the damn plate." he pushed it back. "Anyways, I've been single. There's hardly time for anything else right now. I've barely had enough time for sleep."

"I'm impressed." she gave him an approving look. "Because I know that you care so much because you keep asking," she said sarcastically, "I've been single this whole time, too. Same circumstances." she shrugged. He was even more pleased than he liked to admit, and he tried his best to hide a genuine smile.  
"I have something to tell you, though." she smiled even though he could see how nervous she was.

"Another secret?" he cocked an eyebrow up at her.

"Yes." she laughed softly. "I've been taking a couple of classes online. Before you ask, it's at a college in New York. I had gotten accepted there and barely met the deadline to enroll. Just a few courses that I need for my major." she shrugged.

"Still a super keener, too." he shook his head. "So..." he started uneasily, "are you planning on staying there in New York to finish schooling once you're done with dance, or...?"

"I don't know. I guess it all depends on how this all goes. I'm kind of just...winging it." she shrugged. "Not having a plan is very new to me, still."

He didn't want to admit that that angered him a little bit. He wanted her here after she finished dancing. She didn't need to go off and go to school somewhere else. She was screwing it all up again, and he hated that she was tampering with his plans as well.

"It would suck being out of the country after mom has the baby, though. I don't want to miss too much." she said quietly. As excited as they'd like to be, Casey and Derek both secretly agreed (not discussed between one another) that they were uneasy about Nora having a baby. Both for the same reason they weren't ready to say aloud to themselves or to the other.

"Yeah, the baby's due anytime now..." he said quietly, looking down at his empty plate.

"Yup." she popped her lips. "Should make for an interesting vacation, I guess."

Conversation was little to none after that, and Derek drove them both to their apartment in silence. It was nice, and still near campus. He used his own key to unlock it, and stepped inside.

"What, not going to carry me over the threshold, Der?" Casey teased him as he walked in and his stomach tightened at the wink she threw at him. He laughed, trying to play it cool, and shoved her.

She flicked on the light, and she was thoroughly impressed with her father's work. It was beautifully furnished and freshly painted. She could tell that even the kitchen table was brand new. She immediately made her way to the bedrooms and was also pleased that he got both of their rooms down to the perfect colors and furnishings as well.

"Well, it's a much easier decision to make on whether I'm coming here, now. This place is perfect." Casey said as they both made their way to the living room and plopped down on the sofa.

They both sat staring at the new flat screen in front of them. It wasn't an awkward silence, it was more just them enjoying being around the other. Casey leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed happily when Derek didn't fight it, but rather slung his arm over her shoulder to bring her closer.

"It's weird." She laughed a little.

"What is?" He asked softly, still not breaking his gaze at the blank screen.

"This. Us." She shrugged. "Not that I'm complaining. Maybe all we needed was a little distance for us to be able to get along."

"Case, we still don't get along." He chuckled, but squeezed her shoulder a little to let her know he was kidding.

"You know what I mean." she turned a little and looked up at him, her hand resting on his chest as she looked up at him. He tried to ignore the fact that her face was extremely close to his now. "When have we _ever_ been okay with being this close to one another?"

"Uh, still can't stand it, don't get ahead of yourself." he teased her, bringing his hand up to hers that was on his chest and lacing his fingers through hers.

She looked down at their hands, and back up at him, her lashes fluttering a little bit, and he had never wanted to be a mind reader so bad in his life. And then she smiled that soft smile that she only rarely gave him when he was uncharacteristically sweet to her or did something nice for one of the kids at home. And dammit, if she didn't have all of his heart before, she definitely had it now.

She leaned her head against his shoulder again, still holding onto his hand and sighed softly. "I'm not going to question this. I missed you too damn much to care." And he wanted to push her and ask what she meant by '_this_' and why she should (or _shouldn't_) care, but he didn't. He didn't need to ruin this moment.

"Language, Case." he whispered softly.

"Too _darn_ much." she chuckled, snuggling her head more into him. "Can I just set one rule for this apartment?"

"What, don't leave my underwear anywhere where you could see them?"

"Well, that, and another rule..." she paused uneasily and took a deep breath before saying, "I don't want you bringing random girls here...you know, the way you always brought random girls home when we were in high school."

He was quiet for a little while before he replied to her. "I won't. As long as you have the same consideration for me, too."

"When did you become so reasonable?" she asked softly. "Not that I'm complaining, though."

He laughed lightly. "Guess you got your wish and I'm finally growing up." He turned his head and pressed a light kiss to the top of her head.

Soon enough, she fell asleep against him, and he carried her over to her furnished room, being sure to bring her bag in there afterwards.

"Oh, Der..." she murmured in her sleep, "Always such a gentleman when nobody's watching..."

"You bet, Princess. Go to sleep, I'm gonna be in my room next door." he brushed her hair out of her face lightly. She smiled sleepily, and lightly brushed her fingers over his.

"Night."

"Good night, Casey." he smiled, and walked out of the room, trying his best to regain his composure before he walked to his room. He reached in his back pocket to call Cameron.

"D, where are you?" Cameron had that excited edge in his voice, and Derek rolled his eyes, knowing that his roommate was hopeful for his and Casey's relationship.

"I'm staying with Casey tonight, don't wait up or anything."

"Awe yeaaah!" His friend hooted from the other end, and Derek held the phone away from his ear with a grimace. "That's my boy!"

"Shut the hell up. Her dad bought this apartment for us on campus and we both have our own rooms. I'll explain everything tomorrow before I take off for vacation. I'll stop by in the morning, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever. You should go roll around in bed with her. You're too serious all the time." his friend scolded him.

"Shut up. I'll see you tomorrow." He clicked off his phone and sighed, tossing it on the nightstand and stripping down to his boxers so he could lay in bed.

The cool thing about having this apartment was that he wouldn't mind just living there by himself until Casey came, anyways. He loved the idea of having her there with him all the time. It was selfish, but it was easier to tease her and keep an eye on her when they were under the same roof.

He didn't really think it'd be fair to just leave Cameron, so maybe he'd be able to talk Casey into letting him stay over a few nights a week since she'll be gone anyways. He knew she wouldn't mind, but it was all to be discussed the next morning when he would go to talk to his roommate himself. For now, though, he would just lay happily and enjoy his thoughts of the girl down the hall from him...like always.

* * *

**Lots of dialogue here, eh?**

**Anyways, I finally figured out an ending for this story (which I usually have before I even start a story, but didn't this time); and I've decided to make it a four-shot instead of a 3 shot. Little bit of drama to come next chapter.**

**Hope y'all are enjoying! Leave a review and let me know what you think.**

**Thanks so much to everyone who's reading, I can't express how grateful I am for people who leave positive comments.**

**Until next time:).**

**-B**


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